Time Travel: The Useless Prince, First Destroy the Princess

"Although Tang Dan teaches the Crown Prince to recite scriptures, he is a mere warrior with only a passing knowledge of literature and writing, and lacks the talent to govern a country! I intend to make you the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor and teach him the strategies of governing a country. What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely not possible!" Song Xian was frightened and immediately went out and knelt down.

The position of Crown Prince and Grand Tutor had been abolished for many years. If he was asked to do so, wouldn't that be like putting himself on the fire?

It sounds nice, but it’s actually deadly!

"Why?"

Liu Yan didn't expect Song Xian to refuse, and his face looked very unhappy.

He looked at Song Xian with cold eyes, and Song Xian felt a little guilty.

Having followed Liu Yan for so many years, Liu Yan must be aware of what he was thinking.

"Your Majesty, although I have some knowledge of literature and writing, governing a country is not my forte. I am truly unfit to take on this role!"

"When it comes to statecraft, our Great Jing Dynasty does have many talented people, but who dares to claim first place among those who are both capable of governing and writing? You say they are second to none."

"Your Majesty, I am truly humbled by your praise. The title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince is truly an unparalleled honor. I could never repay your grace even if I died a hundred times. However, although I am somewhat literate, my reputation as Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince is not worthy of your Majesty's grace. I hope Your Majesty will show some compassion!"

Anyway, my thoughts have been seen through, so there is no point in hiding it. At this point, the emperor will naturally understand.

"Forget it, you're good in everything except that you're too self-protective!"

Liu Yan sighed, of course he understood what Song Xian meant.

To put it bluntly, he still doesn't want to offend anyone, so he's known as a fence-sitter!

"Then who do you think is suitable for the job?"

"Your Majesty, I believe that the Prince's Grand Tutor must be the Grand Tutor to rule!"

Song Xian answered straightforwardly.

"He Zhiben is already the Grand Guardian, why add the Prince's Grand Guardian? No way! Let's talk about the others!"

Liu Yan refused without even thinking about it.

The reason is simple. He Zhi is too old and not in good health. How can he teach the prince often?

"Your Majesty, I don't think there is anyone suitable in the court at the moment!"

Since He Zhi, who is so highly respected, is not suitable, Song Xian dare not say anything about others.

The emperor was very wary of his ministers forming cliques for personal gain, so he must not recommend anyone casually and arouse Liu Yan's suspicion.

"Then how do you think the Crown Prince should learn the strategies for governing a country? Do you want me to teach him personally?"

Liu Yan did look a little dissatisfied.

"Your Majesty, the ancients said: 'Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles!' I believe that the strategies for governing a country can be learned from books as well as from the people."

"Oh? That's a good idea. How do you learn it?"

"Your Highness has lived in the inner palace for so long that you know very little about the affairs of the world. If you could leave the palace and travel around, you would understand the sufferings of the people and learn the strategies for governing the country so that you can prescribe the right remedies!"

"Okay!" Liu Yan frowned. He understood what Song Xian meant. It seemed to make sense!

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Song Xian didn't expect this idea to be good, but Liu Yan thought it was a good one, and he felt relieved.

"But have you ever thought about how to ensure the Crown Prince's safety when he goes out? You also know how many disturbances have arisen over the position of Crown Prince!"

Liu Yan spoke slowly. Apart from other dangers, if the Song King's faction took the opportunity to harm his son, it would be hard to guard against.

"Your Majesty, Lord Yang will surely come up with a foolproof plan!"

"You're right. If the Crown Prince wants to learn how to govern a country, I think it's better for him to go among the common people!" Liu Yan nodded. "Thinking back to the past, I also experienced the ups and downs of life among the common people!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Song Xian didn't dare to say anything more!

"Go back to your seat! Isn't it uncomfortable to kneel?"

Liu Yan's brows relaxed, and Song Xian knew that Liu Yan had agreed not to teach the prince how to govern the country. He breathed a sigh of relief and stood up and returned to his seat.

"You're familiar with history books, but do you know any precedents of a crown prince serving as an official?"

Song Xian thought to himself, does the emperor want the prince to hold an official position?

Suddenly, he understood clearly and said, "Your Majesty, during the Xia Dynasty, King Wu personally managed government affairs at the age of fifteen and eventually became a wise ruler. Before Qi Wu was appointed crown prince, he once protected the country and was deeply respected by the people!"

Song Xian talked about wise rulers in history, praising both Liu Yan and Liu Zhao.

Liu Yan felt very comfortable with the flattery and couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"It's too early to be in charge of the government. I think it's feasible to listen to the government affairs!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"But you remind me that when Emperor Wu of Qi was young, he was able to learn a lot of experience from defending the country. What do you think of this method?"

Liu Yan changed the subject.

How could Song Xian say no? He immediately said, "Your Majesty has thought it through carefully. It is certainly feasible!"

"Emperor Xuan served as Jingzhao Yin, and Emperor Wen served as Diannong Zhonglang Jiang. They were well-informed about all the affairs of the people, big and small! I still remember that when I was twenty, I led an army of 100,000 to quell a rebellion. Later, I served as the prefect of Qiyang. Although it was a bit difficult, it also allowed me to learn a lot about statecraft!"

Having said that, Liu Yan paused and looked at Song Xian.

In fact, Emperor Xuan was his father, and Emperor Wen was his grandfather, who was also the brother of the current King Anping Liu Fu.

These were posthumously awarded to him after he established the Jing Dynasty!

"Your Majesty's family, since Gaoyang, has been noble for generations, sharing joy with the people. Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wen were compassionate to the people, and everyone in the world misses them. Your Majesty is now governing with benevolence, and the world is peaceful. This is truly a blessing for the people!"

Song Xian was good at bragging and he also knew what Liu Yan meant.

That is, the ancestors all had to serve as officials among the people to gain experience, but the prince was a little stupid before, so he naturally couldn't become an official!

But now that everything is back to normal, Liu Yan plans to let his son become an official among the people and learn how to handle government affairs!

Not only can you accumulate experience and qualifications, but you can also take the opportunity to train your future governance team.

This is indeed a good thing!

But Song Xian was very worried. The prince did seem to have no intellectual problems, but being an official was not something that could be solved simply by having no intellectual problems.

But at this time, he obviously could not go against Liu Yan's wishes, so he could only smooth things over.

Seeing Song Xian's agreement, Liu Yan continued, "Then tell me about the Crown Prince's current situation. If I want him to serve as an official among the people, what kind of official position would be suitable?"

Song Xian had already anticipated this question, and he knew that this official position couldn't be too high, otherwise he wouldn't be able to do it!

It can't be small either. The smaller the official, the more trivial matters there will be, and it will be more troublesome to deal with.

Not too big or too small is the perfect size!

And it doesn’t necessarily have to be a real job!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a little weak!

Although the prince has become smarter, he is still accustomed to the twists and turns in officialdom, which is something that no normal person would do.

"I believe that since Your Majesty was once the governor of Qiyang, the Crown Prince should also serve as the governor of Qiyang!"

"This old rascal!" Liu Yan cursed in his heart.

I was the prefect of Qiyang back then because my father was not yet the emperor. It was a helpless move, and I had 100,000 elite soldiers at my command at that time.

Many generals in the court today were soldiers of that time.

Many ministers were the staff at that time!

Now that I am the emperor, you want my son to be the prefect of Qiyang?

Do you think it would be ridiculous for me to send 100,000 elite soldiers and 300 counselors to assist?

Don’t you think it would be better to serve as the Inspector of the Imperial Guards in the capital?

Just send a few capable people to help, and they are in the capital, so you can take care of it yourself. Isn’t it easy?

As for the minor matter of supervising Luojing officials, just let the Chief Censor do it first and that’s it!